Travis Winter: Studying in Tel Aviv as the rockets fall

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM

TEL AVIVI am a student at the University of Rhode Island, studying geological oceanography. This summer, through the group Onward Israel, I joined 250 people from different cities doing internships of...

By Travis Winter

TEL AVIV

I am a student at the University of Rhode Island, studying geological oceanography. This summer, through the group Onward Israel, I joined 250 people from different cities doing internships of our choice in Tel Aviv. Mine involved geophysics, at the University of Tel Aviv.

For over a month we have been working, sightseeing and going about our day during unusual circumstances. Atypical for us, but normal for Israel, are rocket attacks. This war between Israel and Hamas has been a life-changing experience.

First, we dealt with the emotion of three students being kidnapped and later murdered. Soon after, rocket attacks began. They woke us up when we were at the dorms or occurred when we were riding the bus. At first, they were startling, but over time we, like the Israeli people, became more resilient. We have become more accustomed to the blare of sirens and the sound of explosions.

Many of those watching the news and reading the paper seem to see Israel as the evil party in this conflict. Israel has been portrayed as murderers of children for its attacks on Gaza. No one except a terrorist can take any satisfaction from people dying, especially children. Israel is not happy when someone dies.

If you are going to make a judgment, be fair and make it based on fact. Pictures have been posted making it seem that Israel murders children, but it has been proven that these pictures are from different wars or even from the movie ďFinal Destination 4.Ē

Hamas continually fires rockets during ceasefires. Israel is not against Palestinians but rather Hamas. Israel is fighting a war not against a people but against terror.

When 9/11 occurred, the United States started a war on terror that lasted years and caused the death of more than 4,000 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis. Now Israel has to fight its own war on terror again.

Israelis and Palestinians both deserve peace. There should be two states, but not at the expense of Israelís security. Hamas has one goal, and that is the destruction of Israel. How can you negotiate with a group of people that has vowed to destroy you? Only Israel would keep Jerusalem safe and free for Christians, Jews and Muslims to worship and practice their faith.

Israel has to spend large amounts of money on building security for its people ó the Iron Dome, for example. Hamasís priority is not to help its people; instead, its goal is the destruction of Israel. Hamas is the true enemy of the Palestinians as it takes aid money intended for their benefit and, instead of building Gaza, it uses the aid for rockets and tunnels.

Israel built a hospital outside of Gaza to care for injured Palestinians. How many countries would do that? They provided supplies and money to Gaza to build its economy and infrastructure only to see it used for the building of tunnels. Israel warns people ahead of launching attacks that they should get to safety. Have you ever heard of such a thing during a war?

As I write this, since the beginning of the operation, 2,441 rockets have been fired from Gaza to Israel. Can you imagine your city being bombed? In Israel, you have 15 seconds to save your life when a siren goes off. What if America was under attack? Would we just stand by?

This war has turned into an emotional battle that has placed Gaza in the hearts of most of the world. Many people are not criticizing the government of Israel; rather, they are fighting the Jewish people with anti-Semitic comments.

When you use the media, I would advise that you follow it up with research. Find out the facts that reports often leave out. This conflict has escalated because of this process of letting emotions outweigh facts.

I will miss Israel when I leave, just as I have missed my family, friends, Delís Lemonade and a lobster roll on the beach.

Travis Winter is a University of Rhode Island student from Katonah, N.Y.